Girls House Basketball Week 5 Rankings

By Kat McKay

With this pivotal midseason weekend in the books, teams are demonstrating whether or not they’ve developed. There has been a lot of consistency on either end of the spectrum, and basically everywhere else. Is this because teams are getting predictable or because I’m getting better at rankings? A good question with presumably no answer. Anyways, an honorable mention goes to the sixth-ranked Blue Devils, who threw in the most impressive, surprising performance of the week.

1. Hoosiers- W, 47-22; 4-1 (Last week: 1)

Want to hear a story about how I did something kind of dumb? Okay. Last week, I wrote about how impressive the Hoosiers’ scoring was, because they got 46 points. Which was fine. What that did, though, was provoke them to score more in this week’s game, since they had inspiration and something bigger to aspire to, according to Riley Sousa. And they did score more. Still fine. Except… it was against my own team. After the half, they were up by over twenty points. It’s admirable. Like I said, there doesn’t seem to be a team that can top these guys. If that team exists, it probably is not the last-ranked Cavaliers.

2. Huskies- W, 39-28; 4-1 (Last week: 2)

The Huskies came back from last week’s loss very strong. By beating one of the better teams in this league, the Tarheels, and putting up nearly forty points, the Huskies proved that their number two ranking is not ripe for the taking. The question now, then, is whether or not this sophomore-heavy squad (it features ex-travel players Morgan Savage and Tyson Maley) will ever move back up to first.

3. Sun Devils- W, 36-22; 4-1 (Last week: 3)

The actual sun didn’t shine once this week… but for these devils, it did. This score differential shows some real talent. I think part of what makes this team so good is that outside of their superstars (seniors Brooke Connors and Kathryn Herz), they have a really solid supporting cast. Juniors Virgina Meyers and Mary-Kate McCarthy and seniors Sloane Palmer and Kyra Conciatori are good at making baskets. That, in a league where baskets are gold, is excellent for the Sun Devils. It means at the very least they’ll make a run.

4. Tarheels- L, 28-39; 3-2 (Last week: 4)

I’m a little surprised by this result, and what it may mean for these girls heading into the postseason. The Tarheels started the season as the top team in the league, but now, after two consecutive losses, it seems like they’re losing their grip. If they had finished this match a little closer, it would be different, or at the least, less significant.  

5. Bears- L, 22-36; 2-3 (Last week: 5)

Who are the Bears? Without going into anything existential, I really just do not understand what this team is made of. They aren’t good or bad or even medium. They have no standout seniors or dynamic superstars, from what I remember. They don’t score a ton and they don’t score nothing. If the Bears want to make an impact, something interesting has to happen. Let’s see if that happens next week.

6. Blue Devils- W, 44-13; 2-3 (Last week: 7)

WHAT EVEN IS THIS?! Give this team an inch and they’ll take a mile. The last time the Blue Devils saw a score differential like this, they were on the other side of it. I can’t imagine what this team has gone through, both defensively and offensively, to have such a transformation. Jess Ackers had her first win last week against the Cavaliers, and it was marginal. I don’t know what these guys had for breakfast the day of this wild performance, but I want it.

7. Wildcats- L, 13-44; 1-4 (Last week: 6)

Whenever I think about the Wildcats, I think about HSM. But now, I’m really thinking about what could have happened to make them the team the Blue Devils completely killed. Junior Morgan Sawitsky said that “This was not a basketball game. It was a wrestling match.” Maybe so. Because nobody scores baskets during wrestling matches, and neither did the Wildcats.

8. Cavaliers- L, 22-47; 0-5 (Last week: 8)

So I had to go to a debate this weekend, and couldn’t make the game. I said to my team: “I’m doing you a favor. I’m not showing up. Take advantage of the opportunity and do something with it.” Anyways…we scored only two points in the first half. (Clearly because of my absence. An interesting statistic: I have zero baskets on the season. Feel free to congratulate me at any time). Soph Carrie McKay led a respectable second half drive, putting up ten baskets, and senior Parker Hamill brought her usual drive and determination. I have faith that some weekend, everyone will show up and everything will go well for the Cavaliers…. Maybe.

That’s it for Week 5. Let’s see how all these teams do during midterm weekend. Until then, DHS.